by Christine Virnig
Illustrated by Korwin Briggs
4 stars
Fascinating, entertaining, and downright disgusting. This was a great read. Grabbed this from the library based on the title alone and was not disappointed. Virnig takes the reader on a trip through time to learn about some of history’s grossest jobs, from a dining room attendant in Ancient Rome to King Henry VIII’s groom of the stool, a leech collector in the Middle Ages to a watchman at a waiting mortuary.
The book centers around jobs that deal with blood, dead bodies, worms and insects, and body waste. Virnig paints vivid pictures with humor and a strong stomach, detailing the time period, what the job involved, and who was unlucky enough to have to do it.
Interspersed throughout the gross facts, humorous descriptions, and potty puns are fun (and often disgusting) illustrations. They work well with the content of the book and make it even more engaging. Be warned: there are a few bare behinds withing these pages. Each chapter ends with a corny joke about the job described.
Engaging writing with plenty of humor. A fascinating read.
There are breakout sections throughout each chapter with related information. These were fun to read. My only complaint is that there were a lot of them in each chapter and they weren’t necessary positioned at a good breaking point. I ended up mostly skipping them until I got to the end of the chapter, then going back to read them.
Includes a glossary of terms, a bibliography for each chapter, and an index at the end.
Packed full of disgusting information. An entertaining way to learn about history, occupations, science, and sanitation.